On Saturday, February 21, India’s wild card entrant Vaishnavi Adkar secured the finals spot of the ITF Bengaluru Open W100 2026 held at the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium. World No. 690 Adkar defeated World No. 126 Lanlana Tarundee of Thailand in the semi-finals match by sets of 6-3, 6-3. The match lasted for an hour and 7 minutes. The win, however, made her the first Indian woman to qualify for the W100 finals since Sania Mirza in 2009.
Adkar began her tennis career at the age of seven, and her experience and skills gained since then earned her a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 115. She held the position as India’s No. 1 U-14 player and was the Fenesta Women’s Nationals champion in 2025. Last year, she made history after winning a bronze medal at the FISU World University Games.
The victory ended India’s 46-year drought of a podium finish at the event. The youngster has been training at the Bounce Tennis Academy under coach Kedar Shah and mentored by Grand Slam champion Rohan Bopanna.
Adkar’s prolific run at the ITF Bengaluru Open 2026 so far
Adkar’s road to the finals saw her victory over three seeded players, including Japan’s Mai Hontama, Australia’s Taylah Preston, and Thailand’s Tararudee. In the finals match, she is set to battle Belgium’s Hanne Vandewinkel. The 21-year-old has also made a major leap, securing the World No. 466 ranking after the semi-finals win. The Indian last won her first ITF title in the 2024 edition and is aiming to add her second in the finals match scheduled on Sunday, February 22.
Earlier in the tournament, the World University Games medalist defeated eighth seed Hontama by 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) in the Round of 16 clash. Adkar, however, recorded her breakthrough win over a Top 150 player in the quarter-finals match. She defeated the fourth seed and world No. 148 Preston by sets of 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
Meanwhile, her semi-final match against Thailand’s Tarundee saw early pressure from both players. Right after her second serve, Adkar suffers a minor setback but goes on to save the break point. Two breaks later, she wins the round and the opening set by 6-3.
In the second set, Adkar got herself an early lead over Tarundee, who remained under pressure against the Indian, who went on to secure her first break point in the fourth game. But the Thai player strikes back and goes on to level the score in the fifth game. But finding her way back into the game, Adkar wins a break point in the sixth game and again takes the lead by 6-3 to close the match.
The ITF Women’s World Tennis tournament features $100,000 prize money. The eight-day event began on February 15 and will end on February 22.
